Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
|
Post by Elvado on Oct 27, 2008 17:45:11 GMT -5
WHAMMY ALERT: 5:45 p.m. EDT
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Ramsey has already placed robocalls congratulating the World Champion Phillies and imploring a "first class" celebration.
Hopefully one went to the Rays clubhouse.
|
|
njhoya06
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 228
|
Post by njhoya06 on Oct 27, 2008 21:48:44 GMT -5
Wait for the Rays to tie it to suspend the game. Great. Thanks Bud Selig and MLB. But Joe Buck says this lets them off the hook, so that's what matters.
|
|
GIGAFAN99
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 4,487
|
Post by GIGAFAN99 on Oct 27, 2008 22:02:33 GMT -5
Wait for the Rays to tie it to suspend the game. Great. Thanks Bud Selig and MLB. But Joe Buck says this lets them off the hook, so that's what matters. Agreed. Let them tie it in completely unplayable conditions and call it "suspended." Hey knuckleheads, finish the fifth, call it "suspended" and politely tell both managers there's a new rule you just made whereby all World Series games must be played 9 innings as not to drive everyone away from watching baseball for the next 100 years. Then finish it tomorrow. This is entertainment kids! Nobody gives a rat's Selig about some "official game" rule when the entertainment value of your sport is compromised.
|
|
vcjack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,875
|
Post by vcjack on Oct 27, 2008 22:23:49 GMT -5
Greatest world series ever. I haven't seen the ratings figgures but I imagine that they're awesome.
|
|
Filo
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,920
|
Post by Filo on Oct 27, 2008 22:25:41 GMT -5
Yeah, it did seem awfully odd to wait until the Rays tied the game to call for the delay. But it looks like it was a face-saving thing for MLB since they can suspend the game with a tie, but not if someone was leading.
Maybe they were trying to make up for all of thise awful calls that went against the Rays. (Seriously, though, Kazmir's control sucked enough, but he got shafted by the home plate ump. McCarver and Buck, as usual, beat the point to death, but they were right.)
|
|
njhoya06
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 228
|
Post by njhoya06 on Oct 27, 2008 22:36:47 GMT -5
Cole wasn't getting calls either (till the Iwamura strike call in the 6th) off the plate. The Rays were just accommodating him by swinging at everything through the first five innings. The strike zone was tiny for both sides, as evidenced by Navarro's walk in the second inning when there were a few very close pitches called balls.
|
|
The Stig
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 2,844
|
Post by The Stig on Oct 27, 2008 23:37:12 GMT -5
Wait for the Rays to tie it to suspend the game. Great. Thanks Bud Selig and MLB. But Joe Buck says this lets them off the hook, so that's what matters. Agreed. Let them tie it in completely unplayable conditions and call it "suspended." Hey knuckleheads, finish the fifth, call it "suspended" and politely tell both managers there's a new rule you just made whereby all World Series games must be played 9 innings as not to drive everyone away from watching baseball for the next 100 years. Then finish it tomorrow. This is entertainment kids! Nobody gives a rat's Selig about some "official game" rule when the entertainment value of your sport is compromised. sports.espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs2008/news/story?id=3668071"After Game 5 of the World Series was suspended on Monday, commissioner Bud Selig said that he would not have allowed a rain-shortened conclusion to the deciding game even if the Tampa Bay Rays had not tied the game 2-2 in the top of the sixth inning."
|
|
Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
|
Post by Elvado on Oct 28, 2008 7:47:54 GMT -5
For Phils' fans it was a textbook case of "Clinchus Interruptus"
|
|
Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
|
Post by Elvado on Oct 28, 2008 8:22:10 GMT -5
You are correct on all counts.
For once, MLB actually got this right by advising both teams in advance that the game/series would not end short.
Where they customarily disgraced themselves was by not starting early. I live 5 minutes from that ballpark and there was no doubt heavy weather was coming. The heaviest arrived in the fourth,fifth and sixth. They start that game at 7:00 and it's done before it gets bad. Of course, we know that there is a higher power at play.
|
|
Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
|
Post by Elvado on Oct 28, 2008 8:50:10 GMT -5
I still think the Phils win, but Tampa has to feel that they slipped the noose last night. The vibe of inevitability that ran through Philly yesterday has been replaced with doubt and preemptive recrimination.
|
|
Jack
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Posts: 3,411
|
Post by Jack on Oct 28, 2008 9:17:51 GMT -5
(On an unrelated topic, realign the divisions a little. Six divisions with five teams is easily done.) Setting aside some of your fairly sensible gripes with TV's dominance of the product, this one is less workable, at least so long as you consider the AL/NL distinction meaningful. To have 15 teams in each leage would require either at least one interleague game every night, or byes where teams get 3 days off at random times during the season and probably leading to the playoffs ending even later in the year.
|
|
RDF
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 8,835
|
Post by RDF on Oct 28, 2008 11:40:06 GMT -5
MLB also needs to allow fans the ability to take a bat to the head of Frank Caliendo and those "Frank TV" ads. I hate this guy--and never even paid attention to him prior to those ads.
|
|
hifigator
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,387
|
Post by hifigator on Oct 28, 2008 12:00:24 GMT -5
I must admit that I disagree with almost everyone.
MLB/Fox and just about everyone else involved has been catching a bag of grief for the handling of the World Series game last night. Well, I -- the true FAN -- am here to tell you they got it nearly perfect.
First things first:
Starting the game earlier: while that might have sounded good to begin with, trust me: the nearly 8:30 starting time was perfect. It gave us just the right amount of time to finish our nice big dinner and even squeeze in a quick game of Wii Bowling. Any earlier, and we wouldn't have had the luxory, but any later and there would have likely been arguments over what game to play next.
Letting the field get too wet to begin with: had there been a major injury, then this reasoning could have merit. But since no one was hurt then the wet play wasn't too detrimental
Not letting everyone know about the decision to complete the game regardless: while I think it was important to let the teams know of the decision, I don't think that everyone else needed to know. In fact some of the commentary on the possibilities back and forth between the announcers was rather entertaining.
To the Ray fan in me: Cole Hamels is pretty much done. I won't be too upset to not see him pitch again this year. And in the unlikely chance that I do, that is probably a good thing, since it would likely be in a game 7 at Tampa/St. Pete.
The Bottom Line: I got what I wanted -- a relatively entertaining night of baseball that didn't end the season for the Rays, without "wasting" any extra baseball. I was so tired, that after the fifth inning I relocated from the sofa to the bed. I don't even remember the Rays tying it in the top of the sixth, but when I saw the ticker in the middle of the night, I realized that it was perfect -- at least for the fan in me.
The icing on the cake is the fact that tonight's otherwise dull TV night, is now scheduled to be much improved.
Lastly, if anyone cares: dinner was a nice ribeye steat, pasta with smoked sausage and green beens, with homemade cinnamon rolls for desert.
|
|
hoyarooter
Blue & Gray (over 10,000 posts)
Posts: 10,443
|
Post by hoyarooter on Oct 28, 2008 12:07:07 GMT -5
The game should have been stopped in the fourth inning when the deluge began. Of course, that would have required the Phillies to survive as many as six innings without Hamels rather than three, but it certainly would have made more sense for all concerned. What would Bud have said if someone had fallen in the swamp and gotten hurt last night? And yes, week night games on the East Coast should certainly start earlier (even if it means I don't get to see anything), but I believe that prime time television hours begin at 8, so good luck moving start times back.
|
|
TBird41
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
"Roy! I Love All 7'2" of you Roy!"
Posts: 8,740
|
Post by TBird41 on Oct 28, 2008 12:12:36 GMT -5
Maybe they couldn't have started the broadcast before 8pm, but they definitely could have cut out the 30 minutes of pregame crap and had the first pitch at 8pm instead of 8:30
|
|
njhoya06
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 228
|
Post by njhoya06 on Oct 28, 2008 12:25:53 GMT -5
Well, Cole can go on three days rest now for Game Seven if need be, so that's nice.
|
|
Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
|
Post by Elvado on Oct 28, 2008 12:33:46 GMT -5
Given Hamels' track record on issues of rest, he'd probably duck the assignment.
|
|
HoyaFanNY
Diamond Hoya (over 2500 posts)
Never throw to the venus on a spider 3 Y banana!
Posts: 4,995
|
Post by HoyaFanNY on Oct 28, 2008 12:49:52 GMT -5
hamels has to start a game 7. only 75 pitches last night and 3 full days rest.
|
|
njhoya06
Century (over 100 posts)
Posts: 228
|
Post by njhoya06 on Oct 28, 2008 12:49:51 GMT -5
Given Hamels' track record on issues of rest, he'd probably duck the assignment. Other than the fact that he said last night that he would pitch game seven if Charlie wanted him to, I'm sure you're right on. Now there's discussion of adding back in a travel day because this has turned into a logistical nightmare. If they do that, he'd be able to pitch on regular rest. He only threw 75 pitches last night anyway. It's a nice safety policy at least in case we can't close it out tomorrow.
|
|
Elvado
Platinum Hoya (over 5000 posts)
Posts: 6,080
|
Post by Elvado on Oct 28, 2008 12:56:40 GMT -5
If this series makes it to a Game 7,there willbe a run on Psychiatrists and suicide hotlines throughout greater Philadelphia. In fact, I'm not sure the locals can handle it going to a Game 6.
|
|